In recent years, the Ontario legislature has slowly eroded accident victims’ access to Attendant Care benefits available under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS). Since 2010, an accident victim must either hire a professional caregiver or prove that his/her attendant has incurred an economic loss – such as lost income – while providing attendant care. Both requirements are fraught with complications. When attendant care in the form of supervision, emotional support, and intermittent assistance is required, it is difficult to hire a professional specifically for that purpose. Furthermore, family members who fill this role may find it difficult to prove a concrete economic loss. Many injured individuals who sustain severe injuries may require supervisory attendant care to ensure their “comfort, safety and security”.

http://otlablog.com/attendant-care-moves-into-the-digital-age/

Diane Clarke is a single mother of four, living in North Etobicoke. In April 2014, she had to leave her job as a social worker to take care of her oldest daughter, who had become sick. Her $4,000 monthly income was cut down to $1,380; after paying rent, Clarke had less than $200 left over to cover her family’s cost of living. Her small savings quickly dried up, and after three weeks without work, she ran out of food.

http://torontoist.com/2015/10/inner-suburban-food-bank-use-soars/

In late August, the Ontario government issued a regulation that will revamp statutory accident benefits as of June 1, 2016. Among the many changes is the reduction of medical, rehabilitation, and attendant-care benefits to a maximum of $1 million from an aggregate ceiling of $2 million. Prior to June 1, 2016, victims suffering catastrophic injuries could get up to a maximum of $1 million for medical and rehabilitation benefits and an additional maximum of $1 million for attendant-care benefits. The changes have combined the two and reduced them by 50 per cent.

http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201510194990/headline-news/recent-auto-insurance-changes-make-system-more-complex

Ontario brokers may want to begin demanding that the province implement auto insurance reforms, or else they risk compromising their reputation and future business opportunities, according to the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA).

http://www.insurancebusiness.ca/news/how-ontarios-fundamentally-broken-auto-insurance-hurts-brokers-otla-198039.aspx

The report pushes strongly for reform to the insurance system to favour the drivers instead of the insurance companies. “We need a critical re-examination of auto insurance in Ontario and the auditor is well positioned to provide a truly independent review. At a minimum, we need to advance the discussion about auto insurance beyond the simplistic idea that the only thing that matters is the price we pay,” says Maia Bent, President of OTLA.

http://www.lowestrates.ca/news/ibc-dismisses-report-stating-ontarians-overpay-auto-insurance-2004

Ontario automobile, so often the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry’s problem child, is once again in the headlines with the announcement that rates have fallen by just under 7% from August 2013 to August 2015. What makes this problematic for the industry is that the Ontario government initiated a cost and rate reduction strategy in 2013 that called for a 15% reduction by August 2015. The Liberals introduced this strategy in order to win much-needed support for their 2013 budget. At the time, the Liberals were leading a minority government and needed the support of the opposition New Democratic Party in order to pass legislation.

http://www.insblogs.com/auto/rough-road-may-await-ontario-auto-insurers/5945

TORONTO—Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) president and CEO David Marshall has been appointed as advisor to the minister of finance on auto insurance and pensions effective Feb. 1, 2016.

http://dailycommercialnews.com/Associations/News/2015/10/David-Marshall-to-leave-WSIB-1010801W/

Until recently, the Courts of Justice Act allowed for prejudgment interest and defined it as the bank rate with the exception of non-pecuniary losses determined by the rules of the court. The Rules of Civil Procedure set the interest rate for non-pecuniary damages in motor vehicle cases at five per cent. Among the amendments made to the Insurance Act earlier this year was the provision that the Courts of Justice Act doesn’t apply to the calculation of prejudgment interest for damages for non-pecuniary losses related to injury or death arising from an automobile accident.

http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201510194991/headline-news/ontario-courts-differ-on-prejudgement-interest

The IBC has issued a “fact check” on the newest Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) report, with spokesman Ralph Palumbo declaring that the study “isn’t fair, it isn’t serious and it isn’t factual.”

The study, an updated analysis of Ontario’s auto insurance industry, found that the province’s consumers “likely” overpaid on their premiums by $1.5 billion in the past two years, amounting to $100 per policy in 2014 and $120 per policy in 2013.

http://www.insurancebusiness.ca/news/breaking-news-ibc-responds-to-scathing-auto-insurance-report-198021.aspx

The latest figures from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, released Thursday, show rates fell half a point in the quarter ended Sept. 30, to 6.96 per cent for the province’s 9.4 million drivers.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/10/15/ontario-car-insurance-rates-drop-but-far-less-than-promised.html